


the weight of our choices and rewriting history

by blurring_the_lines



Series: the weight of our choices [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: (Oh Wait- You Can't), AO3 Sure Doesn't Know, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alive Bianca di Angelo, Alive Luke Castellan, Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, An Absolute Goddess, Annabeth Chase & Thalia Grace Friendship, Annabeth Chase is a Good Friend (Percy Jackson), Annabeth Chase knows ASL, Annabeth is Ready to Leave TM, Annabeth is a Queen (at Eye-Rolling), BAMF Thalia Grace, Baby Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Bianca di Angelo Fluent in Italian, Bianca is Confused, Bianca is So Done TM, Bisexual Annabeth Chase (Percy Jackson), Bisexual Female Character, Bisexual Male Character, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Book: The Demigod Files (Percy Jackson), But He's Also Freaking Out, But Noooo Because Why Would They, Camp Half-Blood (Percy Jackson), Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Canon Related, Canon Rewrite, Canon Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Cross-Posted on Lots of Things, Cussing, Cute Nico, Desi Thalia Grace, Don't Examine This Too Closely, Don't Have to Know Canon, Don't Judge Me, Don't Like Don't Read, Don't Try This At Home, Dorks, Emotional, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Roller Coaster, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Is Alive, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, Family, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fix-It, Fix-It of Sorts, Friendship, Gabe Ugliano Being an Asshole, Gay Nico di Angelo, Getting to Know Each Other, Good Luke Castellan, Grover (Percy Jackson) is a Good Friend, Happy Nico, Headcanon, Headcanon Accepted, Help, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, I Blame Tumblr, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Don't Even Know, I Feel Obliged to Apologize, I Haven't Read The Trials of Apollo, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Going to Hell, I'm Not Sure How Far I'll Go With This, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry Rick Riordan, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Innocent Luke Castellan, Is this enough tags?, It's Not Paranoia If They're Really Out To Get You, Latino Percy Jackson, Lesbian Bianca di Angelo, Lesbian Character, Luke Castellan Redemption, Luke is Just Trying to Keep it Together TM, Maybe They Wouldn't if Chiron Would Get a Hecking Therapist, Might As Well Just Tell the Story in the Tags, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Mostly not beta read, Nico Feels, Nico di Angelo & Percy Jackson Friendship, Nico di Angelo Fluent in Italian, Nico is a Dork, No Beta We Die Like Percabeth's Childhood, No Smut, Non canonically canon, Not Canon Compliant, POC Grover, Percy Jackson Fluent In Spanish, Percy Jackson References, Percy Jackson is a Dork, Percy Jackson is a Good Bro, Percy Jackson is a Good Friend, Percy Jackson is a Mess, Percy Jackson knows ASL, Percy is Confused, Platonic Female/Female Relationships, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Platonic Relationships, Please Don't Hate Me, Please Don't Kill Me, Plot, Possibly Pre-Slash, Pre-teens - Freeform, Read by the Author, Rewrite, Rick Riordan Demigod Universe | Riordanverse, Sally Jackson Fluent in Spanish, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Sally Jackson is a Queen Among Queens, Sarcastic Percy Jackson, Sassy Percy Jackson, Siblings, Sign Language, Sorry Not Sorry, Swearing, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Team Dynamics, Team Feels, Team Fluff, Team as Family, Teambuilding, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, The Gods A+ Parenting, The Parent's A+ Parenting, They're Like Babys, They're a Family, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Time Travel Fix-It (Kind of Sort of), Well All of It I read TDP and THO, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, Why isn't that a tag?, am i going to stop?, baby Percy Jackson, but I'm not Entirely Sure Why, how do, how many tags is too many tags?, inconsistent updates, multi-lingual characters, no, probably, prove me wrong, the world may never know, what is canon?, why isn't that a tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:53:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29927487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blurring_the_lines/pseuds/blurring_the_lines
Summary: A kid- about ten, two years younger than herself- ran into her. He giggled, his hands clutching cards.“Sorry, miss,” She smiled at him, “It’s okay,”He grinned up at her, practically vibrating on his heels, “I’m Nico. What’s your name?”She hesitated- she’d learned not to give her identity to just any way but she figured, what the heck? it’s not like Nico was gonna kill her.“Thalia. Nice to meet you,”
Relationships: Bianca di Angelo & Nico di Angelo, Bianca di Angelo & Nico di Angelo & Thalia Grace, Bianca di Angelo & Nico di Angelo & Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson, Bianca di Angelo & Nico di Angelo & Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson & Luke Castellan & Annabeth Chase, Bianca di Angelo & Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Gabe Ugliano, Thalia Grace & Sally Jackson
Series: the weight of our choices [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119755
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. thalia I

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mikeyfangirl811](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikeyfangirl811/gifts), [Love_Granger11](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Love_Granger11/gifts), [my_gender_is_5_bucks_and_a_d20](https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_gender_is_5_bucks_and_a_d20/gifts), [blueraven123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueraven123/gifts).



> hello again dear friends. yes, i rewrote this. for those of you who have not read my original version, you can skip this note.  
> so, a very amazing commenter (thanks demorit) pointed out that there was a lot wrong with my old one.  
> 1\. keeping the timeline in mind, Reyna doesn't actually get to CJ until after SoM  
> 2\. even if she did, it doesn't make much sense for an eight-year-old to be praetor (not to mention, the timelines were confusing me _so)_  
>  3\. likewise, Jason was actually in the fifth cohort, instead of the third. Leo and Jason will still come in, it'll just be in a later work of this series :)  
> with all this being said ^^ there will no longer be other timelines, it will all be in 2000. also the first couple of chapters will be the same as it was.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thalia grace pov-  
> arriving in a special place

**(thalia)**

Thalia kicked the rock, watching as it skipped over the cracks in the sidewalk. She forgot how long she’d been walking- days, weeks, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she had to get away. Away from her mom- who couldn’t be bothered to do anything but drink- away from the monsters- that always seemed to follow her- away from her past- she’d even stopped using her last name- away from everything- which was easier said than done. 

She sighed, turning the corner. She’d been trying to find a convenience store or gas station, someplace she could get something to eat and clean herself up. The last time she checked, she’d been in Huntington Beach. Progress, considering she’d started back in San Diego. 

Her eyes scanned the area in front of her, consisting of obviously newly-renovated buildings and trash-covered grass. She lifted her arm, running her hand along the brick wall that belonged to the building next to her, as she kicked the rock again. A man walked past her, grunting when she bumped into him. She muttered a half-hearted apology but grinned triumphantly as she looked behind her, watching him turn the corner she just came around, unsuspecting, and slipping his wallet into her back pocket. 

She’d been living off of pickpockets and loose change found on the ground ever since she left home. No, not home. It was just a house. Especially since Jason- She stopped herself. She couldn’t go thinking about that. Luckily, she spotted a 7/11 to take her mind off of it.

::

She pulled the door open, ignoring the look the clerk behind the counter was giving her as the bell above the entrance rang out. She couldn’t blame him. Her choppy black hair was a rat's nest, and she hadn’t changed in two days. Her skin had taken on a more yellow tone and her freckles had become more prominent against her cheeks because of the sun.

Walking to the back of the store, toward the restroom, she grabbed a pack of gum and a stick of deodorant, swiftly sliding them into her sweatshirt pocket, unnoticed. Pushing on the door, she stepped into the restroom, locking it behind her. She flipped on the water faucet so the clerk wouldn’t hear her quietly opening the packages. She tossed the plastic in the trash, throwing paper towels on top of them so they weren’t seen. Turning to the mirror, she washed her face and arms, put on a fresh layer of deodorant, and, popping a stick of gum in her mouth, walked out of the bathroom. 

She went to the second aisle- after staring at the signs for a solid minute, trying to read them through her dyslexia- and grabbed a box of Little Debbies and a new pair of socks. If there was one thing she never wore twice- it was socks. 

The clerk, David, raised an eyebrow, “This all?”

She nodded, “Uh-huh,”

“Your parents?” he asked after a moment, scanning her items

“In the car,” she replied easily, sliding a couple of bills across the counter. 

It was bullshit and she knew it and she had a feeling he knew it too, but he didn’t say anything as he handed her a grocery bag- instead opting for waving. She waved back, leaving the 7/11

::

Thalia weighed the stone in the palm of her hand, tossing it between her fingers, before throwing it at the sign ahead of her that she figured said 

WELCOME

TO FABULOUS

LAS VEGAS

CALIFORNIA

She figured here probably wouldn’t be the best place to stop, especially since she only had twenty bucks and this was practically the land of the rich. She hadn’t stopped in the last town, though, and her feet were killing her. Plus, she hadn’t eaten or slept in over twenty-four hours. She didn’t have a watch, but she figured by the lack of light in the sky and the position of the stars, that it was around ten o’clock.

She stuck to the side of the road, hiding in the dark and retreating further when the occasional car drove past. After a close call with a sketchy-looking guy- the result of turning down the wrong alleyway- Thalia didn’t want to take any chances.

She passed by hotels, shops, apartments. There was a constant of shouting, horns honking, and curses through the air, coming from the busy streets and passing vehicles. It was crowded, and Thalia used that to her advantage. She slipped between crowds, followed behind people old enough to be her parent, inconspicuously walking under store balconies and past storefronts. A few times she managed to score a wallet or some bills but tried not to do it too often, afraid of attracting attention to herself.

Thalia walked under the sun, feeling it beat down on her back and soak through her black clothing. She passed MGM, slowing slightly, before figuring that it’d be too busy, too risky. She walked through Monte Carlo, a pirate ship, pyramids, and a ton of other tourist attractions, wandering aimlessly. The air smelled like sulfur and burning rubber. LA was loud and boisterous and she didn’t know the first thing about it. She didn’t know how much anything would cost or what rules applied, so she picked a random building- Lotus Hotel and Casino and decided that was the one she’d walk into.

The entrance had a big neon flower, the petals blinking and flashing yellow and pink. She’d never seen one before, but she figured it was a lotus going by the name of the casino. A woman approached her, offering a plastic card. Thalia eyed it suspiciously.

“I don’t have any money,” she lied

The woman laughed, eyes lighting up as she threw her head back, “Sweetie, that’s alright. Consider it a gift,”

Thalia didn’t reach for it, at first. She’d learned to be suspicious years ago- when she saw a cheerleader on the street whose form flickered from gorgeous to hideous, a dog that seemed to enlarge in size within a matter of seconds and had rows and rows of teeth. Once, she had even seen a horse with wings hidden behind some bushes.

There was something about the woman, though, that filled Thalia with warmth and made her toes tingle. She had the same feeling a mother would, she supposed.

Thalia relented, outstretching her arm and grabbing the card, smiling hesitantly at her.

“...Thank...you?” It came out more of a question than a statement, but the woman laughed again.

“Of course, Thalia,”

That should've been it. When the doorwoman had called her by her name even though she hadn’t given it. But, the only thing there was a nagging voice, whispering in the back of her mind. Plus, when she fully stepped into the Lotus hotel, she forgot everything.

The lobby was a game room. The entire lobby- with indoor waterslides, bungee jumping, VR, a huge TV, and what seemed like thousands of different video games- was one giant game room. Thalia ignored the murmur in her head as her eyes widened as they landed on the far left wall. Lining it, was a table full of any snack, any drink, any food you could imagine. Thalia’s stomach growled just looking at it. 

There weren’t any adults that she noticed, besides what seemed to be staff, which was a little weird. Maybe they had decided to stay in their rooms.

She shrugged it off, shouldering the backpack she had gotten at her last rest stop, and started forward.


	2. thalia II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> thalia POV-  
> meeting nico and bianca

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see, here would've been leo (which kind of messes up the POV's more, but whatever, i don't have it in me to care enough, sorry lol), but now it's just thalia again. :)  
> reminder: this story all takes place in 2000's

**(thalia)**

She wasn’t sure, exactly where she was going, but handled the key card anyway, taking long, confident strides down the hall. The numbers on the plastic read 601 and she was at 101. That meant she’d have to take the elevator, which was at the end of the corridor. She was about halfway there when a kid- about ten, two years younger than herself- ran into her. He giggled, his hands clutching cards.

“Sorry, miss,”

She smiled at him, “It’s okay,”

He grinned up at her, practically vibrating on his heels, “I’m Nico. What’s your name?”

She hesitated- she’d learned not to give her identity to just any way but she figured, what the heck? it’s not like Nico was gonna kill her.

“Thalia. Nice to meet you,”

“You too! Do you know what Mythomagic is?” she shook her head, but it didn’t seem to matter because he was still talking, “And it’s super awesome because you can-”

“Nico!’

Thalia looked up, past Nico’s shoulder to see a beautiful girl about her age, with a braid over her shoulder and a green hat over that, running toward them. Nico’s grin grew.

“Bia! Look! I made a friend! Her name is Thalia, she’s super cool,”

Thalia chuckled as the girl shot her an apologetic grin, “Sorry about that, miss. My name’s Bianca, and this is my little brother,”

“I can see it,” Thalia commented.

And she could. They both had the same dark hair, almost black but just a shade shy of it, and olive complexion. They had the same facial features, too, but where Bianca had freckles, Nico had dimples. They wore the same clothes, too. They were a little weird, like something from the ’30s.

Thalia frowned and something in her brain clicked. Why she hadn’t needed to pay, the way there were no adults, the clothes from decades ago.

She gasped, “Bianca...what year is it?”

The girl frowned like she was racking around her mind for an answer, “Uh- 1939,”

Thalia’s eyes widened, and she clenched her shaking fist.

They needed to get out of there _now_.

“Where are you guy’s parents,” She asked, urgently

Nico shook his head, “There Uhm, not here,” His eyes, though, held a certain sadness in them that told her what that really meant. 

Thalia debated with herself- there was something about these kids, she wasn't’ sure exactly what it was, but it gave her a sense of comfort- almost like they were akin to her. But she could hardly take care of herself, let alone two more people. She bit her lip before nodding determinedly.

“How long have you guys been here?”

“A few weeks, why?” Bianca had obviously caught on to her pressing tone

“We need to leave,”

“What? Why? We don’t even know you, plus we’ve been just fine here,”

Thalia shook her head, “This place is- it’s not safe. We need to go as soon as possible,”

“What are you talking about?” Bianca demanded, “That doesn’t make sense, why wouldn’t it be safe,”

“I’ll explain later, come on!” She started down the hall, and her actions and emphasis on _as soon as possible_ must’ve been enough to scare Bianca because she grabbed Nico’s hand and dragged him after her.

“Where are we going?”

“I don’t know yet,”

“I don’t want to leave, though. This place is awesome!”

He was right- this place had everything, food, showers, games. Thalia shook her head, fiercely, gritting her teeth

“We’ll find a better place, just come on,”

::

They somehow managed to make it out without too much of a fight. Twice, though, Thalia almost said forget it and turned around, to go back to the place that had everything she needed. Who knows how long they would’ve stayed, though, and Thalia didn’t want to find out.

“Hold on! Stop!” Bianca shouted after they’d gotten far enough from the Casino, “Where are we going? Who _are_ you? What are you doing?”

Thalia resisted the urge to say, _one question at a time_ , and took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure where we’re going, yet-”

“What do you mean you’re not sure?!” She yelled, “You just pulled us out of the only safe place we’ve known in forever, and you don't even know _why_?”

“I know why,” Thalia snapped

“Then why?” Nico asked

Thalia took another breath, “That place,” she pointed back at the Lotus, “Is magic,”

“Wha- No, it’s not. That’s impossible,” Bianca frowned

Nico, though, grinned, “I knew it! I told you, Bia! I bet those monsters were real, too, it’s just lik-”

“What monsters?” Thalia interrupted

Bianca sighed, “He says that he saw some half-bat woman lady,”

Thalia blanched, “Uh-what?”

Nico nods fervently, his smile widening, “Uh-Huh, uh-huh She had these scary wings,” he spread his arms out, “And teeth, and she was really scary. But it was awesome!”

Thalia bit her lip, trying not to panic, “What did she do?”

Nico shrugged, “She just kind of stared at me. And then Bia pulled me away, and guess what? She _flew_! She flew right into the sky!”

Thalia let out a small breath of relief, “What you saw was called a fury,”

Nico’s eyes widened, “Those are in my game! They have two thousand-”

“Nico!” Bianca snapped, “This isn’t your dumb game! She’s crazy!”

Thalia sighed, pressing her palms into her eyes, “No. Bianca, you have to listen to me. If you don’t, you could- bad things would happen,”

Bianca swallowed, “So..what if you are right? Yo-you can’t prove it!”

Thalia froze. That’s what she needed proof.

“If I can, will you believe me?”

Nico nodded, “Prove it, prove it, prove it,” he said all in one breath, bouncing again

Thalia walked a few feet before picking up a stick, one that had been discarded or fallen out of a nearby tree. She felt a tug in her finger, and a familiar feeling pulsed through her body. The smell of burning wood brought her back, and she opened her eyes to see Bianca and Nico staring at her, mouths wide open.

“Do you believe me now?”

Bianca nodded.


	3. bianca III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bianca POV-  
> the world of the Gods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no patterned POV switch.

**(bianca)**

Bianca couldn’t believe what Thalia was telling her. It didn’t make any sense. It was _impossible_.

After Thalia had done- whatever it was she did- Bianca had demanded an explanation. People didn’t just _have_ powers. Or genetic disorders, or whatever the heck was wrong with her.

“What was that?”

Thalia tossed the stick aside “That’s kind of a long story,”

“We’ve got time,”

Thalia nervously glanced behind her, before her eyes flitted past Bianca’s shoulder, before nodding.

“Okay, I’ll explain everything, but first, we have to get out of here,”

“What? Why?”

Thalia sighed, “Because it might not be safe. Demigods can’t stay in one place for a long time unless they’re protected, so we need to keep moving,”

Bianca froze, “Wha- _WHAT?!_ Demigods?? What are you talking about? Protected?”

Thalia bit her lip- she obviously hadn’t meant to let the ‘demigod’ part slip, but now Bianca wasn’t going to let it go without an explanation.

“I promise I’ll explain, we just- we _really_ need to go,”

Bianca huffed but nodded hastily, grabbing Nico’s hand and practically dragging him behind her.

“Bia, Bia, I told you! That bat lady was real, and so was the man with one eye, and all of it!” 

Nico enthusiastically skipped behind her, shoving his Mythomagic cards into his pocket. She had a momentary flash of guilt- she should’ve listened to him, should’ve believed him (maybe then, they wouldn’t be in this situation)- but figured she’d apologize later. Right now, they needed to get to safety.

::

Bianca panted, leaning against a tree, trying to catch her breath. Thalia leaned forward from her position next to her, and put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Nico was, too, lifting his arms above his head and trying to get some air into his lungs.

They’d been running from what Thalia had called a _Dracaena_. 

She still owed her explanation. When she voiced her thoughts, Thalia swallowed, glancing around nervously again, before nodding.

“Alright, alright. Basically, do you remember that creature that Nico claimed to see? The winged bat lady?” 

Bianca and Nico nodded

“That was called a Fury. But, you’re not supposed to say the name of the monsters _ever._ Got it? Those go by Kindly Ones,”

“Wait- what? Why can’t we say their names?”

“It attracts them,”

Bianca raised an eyebrow, “Uh- what?”

Thalia sighed again, puffing out her cheeks and looking up at the sky, “You guys are Half-bloods. Or demigods. I personally prefer demigods, half-blood sounds like some kind of experimental breed or something. Anyway, you’re half-god,”

Nico laughed a bit breathless, “Bia, Bia, we’re half god. We’re,” he giggled again, “We’re half-god,”

If Bianca hadn’t known that they were running from monsters for the past few hours, she would’ve thought he was delirious. Actually, he still might be. She couldn’t believe how easily he was fooled into these things. There was no such thing as Gods. If there were any, it’d be capital-G God, not multiple of them.

“That’s insane. You’re insane. Come on, Nico, let’s go,” 

Nico made a noise in the back of his throat as Thalia vigorously shook her head.

“I swear, Bianca, how else would I be able to do this?” She zapped the tree, “Why else would monsters be chasing us?”

Bianca stopped. She so desperately wanted all of this to be some kind of elaborate trick or prank- that Thalia would laugh and say “Gotcha. Real good,” and maybe Nico was even in on it, too- but she had a feeling it wasn’t. She knew deep down that all of this, whatever it was, it was real. And she was going to have to start listening to Thalia if she wanted to survive.

“Okay, okay,” she relented, sitting criss-cross on the soft ground. Thalia and Nico followed her lead.

“That probably wasn’t the best place to start. Let me do it from the beginning. How much do you guys know about the Greek Gods?”

Bianca shrugged, “I know their names. The basics- how they were created, the history,” 

Thalia nodded and turned to Nico who was tapping his knee against the grass.

“Oh! I know _tons_. I know Zeus has 3000 attack power, but only if you’re opponent attacks fir-”

Thalia laughed and Nico stopped, grinning at her.

“Okay, okay. So I take it you know a lot?”

Nico nodded enthusiastically. Too enthusiastically, Bianca decided, for somebody who's just been told their life was a lie.

Thalia hummed before eyeing them skeptically, “If you don’t mind me asking- who did you guys live with?” 

Bianca frowned, for some reason unable to remember.

Nico answered for her, though, “Our mom,”

It still bothered her that she had forgotten that, but she shrugged it off for now.

Thalia nodded, “Okay, so that means you’re dad- whatever lies you’ve been told about him, whether he died or- or he just left- forget it. He’s one of the Gods,”

Bianca took a deep breath. _Okay_ , she thought, _What else?_ Nico seemed to be loving this, though, and his restless energy seemed to catch in the wind and ruffle Bianca’s hair.

She tapped her shoe, “Which one?”

Thalia bit her lip, “See, that’s the thing. We can never know until we find out your powers,”

Nico gasped, “Powers? We have _powers_?!”

A startled, slightly hysterical laugh bubbled up in Bianca’s throat and tumbled out of her mouth. 

She felt like crying.

Thalia looked at her, “I know that this is a lot to take in, and I know it doesn’t feel very real right now, but you have to trust me, okay?” she said softly, “It’s what’s going to determine whether or not you live,”

 _Whether or not you live_.

Those words were repeated over and over in Bianca’s mind, like a broken record. It echoed off the walls and bounced around in her stomach.

“Nico, Bianca. Do you guys understand?”

Bianca knew she wasn’t lying- knew it wasn't a joke- no matter how desperately she wished it was. She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it. It didn’t bend like that.

But when Nico sobered up and nodded sincerely, grabbing her hand, and when Thalia's electric blue eyes met hers, Bianca nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I understand,”


	4. luke IV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> luke POV-  
> meeting Grover

**(luke)**

As far as Luke was concerned, it was not normal to be half person, half goat.

Then again, it wasn’t very normal to be able to unlock anything that required a key, and it wasn’t very normal for mythological beings to chase you across numerous states. 

But now, there was a goat person- he wasn’t entirely sure _what_ to call him- standing in front of him, frantically waving his arms around and _bleating_ nervously.

“You need to come with me. Right now. You’re in trouble,”

“Woah, Woah, slow down. I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,”

The goat looked like he was a few years younger than Luke- who was fourteen- and his eyes kept flitting around nervously as if somebody was gonna come out and kill him. He had jeans on, but there were holes in them, leaving visible patches of fur that obviously weren’t part of some sort of shag carpet pants. He had a rasta cap on, except it was tilted on his head, so Luke could see a tiny horn peeking out of his curly hair. 

The goat took a deep breath, “I need you to come with me. Right now,”

“Okay, but why?”

“Because if you don’t, you could die,”

“. . .Die? Is this because of the monsters?”

Goaty paled, “M-monsters? You’ve seen the monsters?”

“Uh. . .yes?” Luke wasn’t sure how he was supposed to answer that question- with the truth or not- because this kid was obviously already freaking out, and he didn’t want to make it worse.

He cursed in a language that was definitely _not_ English, and took another deep breath, “Look, you’re in serious danger. This isn’t a joke, and I really need you to _come with me_ ,”

“I don’t even know you!” Luke protested as he was practically dragged by him to who knows where “And I have no idea where you’re taking me!”

“I don’t either!” The goat said, “And my name’s Grover,”

Luke stared at him, “My- my name’s Luke and- you don’t where you’re taking me?! Are you going to explain anything?”

“No- I mean, yeah, probably, but, I just need you to trust me,”

“Trust a half-goat, donkey,” Grover bleated angrily, but Luke kept going, “Kid who I don’t know and wants me to take me to no particular place?”

“Yes! Now, come on!”

::

Luke wasn’t sure why he had allowed Grover to take him to wherever they were, but he supposed, in the end, it was probably better than he had because, at this point, he would’ve been past dead. 

He took a big, gulping breath, trying to calm his palpitating heart rate from running, and turned to Grover.

“Explanation. Now,”

Grover glanced around but nodded and started stammering out a response, “So do you know about the Gods?”

Luke nodded- he had figured that out a while ago, and it had explained his unnatural ability to break any lock and lie rather easily. 

“Well, that’s where the monsters come from. They go after you because of-”

“My scent, yeah, I know all about that stuff, but why are you here? Where are we going?”

“I’m a satyr,” he explained, “Not a donkey,” he grumbled underneath his breath, before continuing, “And my job is to find and escort demigods like you,”

“Escort me. . .where?”

“A place called Camp Half-Blood. They’re gonna help you. They can teach you how to fight the monsters and take control of your powers,”

Luke bit his lip. If they tried contacting his mom or taking him back there, he wasn’t sure it’d be a good idea.

“I- I can’t,”

“What do you mean you can’t? You have to! It could be your only chance!”

“Chance to what?”

“Survive!”

“I’ve lived this long,” Luke points out. He’s not listening to him. He couldn't go to Half-Blood. They’d probably ask who his mom was, and who his dad was. He wouldn’t be able to answer either of those questions.

Grover met his eyes, “Look, Luke, the older you get, the more they’ll come for you. I’m just asking you to trust me. The kids at Camp understand. They get it, with the whole parent-is-a-God thing and you can stay year-round. You wouldn’t have to go back home if you didn’t want to. No questions asked,”

Luke stared at him. He wasn’t sure what to do. It sounded like a good deal- getting everything under control, learning how to survive, being guaranteed a place to sleep and food, no having to worry about anything. 

“I-,” he faltered. He really wanted this. He did, but there was something about it that made him hesitate. He had a bad feeling about it. Besides, from the sounds of it Camp Half-Blood, which helped him learn to control his powers, it was obvious that they interacted with the Gods. Which meant that, if Luke went, he’d have to talk to his dad, Hermes. . . He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to do that. He had spent years resenting him because he’d never been there. It wasn’t fair. 

He looked back at Grover, whose eyes seemed to be pleading with him.

“Luke, please. There are others like you that I need to help find. None of them are older than you, and they all know what you’re going through,”

Luke knew what he had to do. Because if he went- like he planned to- he’d be able to help these kids. Maybe the nightmares he’s been having will finally leave him alone.

“Okay, Grover. Let’s go,”


	5. bianca V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bianca POV-  
> meeting luke

**(bianca)**

Bianca didn’t know exactly, where Thalia had taken her and Nico. Somewhere in the middle-of-nowhere. They had passed the state sign a while ago, the paint was faded and old and the board had been practically sagging, slumped forward through years of weather and wear, so Bianca hadn't been able to make out where they were. 

She absent-mindedly tugged at her lip with her teeth, clutching tight to Nico’s hand. She still wasn’t sure if she was one hundred percent sure if she believed in Gods and myths jumping straight out of books and movies and into reality, but she did know that her old life had been flipped around and shaken to its core.

Everything Bianca had been told- she still wasn’t sure what that implied, because, as far as she could tell, her memories were gone was a lie. Completely wrong.

And that was the other problem- her loss of memory. She couldn’t remember how long she had stayed at the Lotus, where she lived if she even lived anywhere, her family, friends, her own birthday. It was just her and Nico.

Well, and Thalia now, she guessed.

The realization made a cold feeling spread in her gut. THalia and she were twelve, and Nico was ten. They were too young to be doing this alone. Plus, not to mention, they had almost no money, no phones- which, even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to use it- no destination and monsters coming after them. 

Bianca was terrified.

If her dad was still alive like Thalia said, why didn’t he help? Why didn’t he do something? Part of her wondered if it was because he just didn’t love them, while the other part thought he just didn’t care enough and he just chose not to. 

She wasn’t sure which option was words.

She stuck her hands in the pockets of her jeans, ears burning from the cold. Nico had mentioned to Thalia earlier how they had lived with their mom. She had wanted to ask how he knew that- how was he so sure? Had he remembered? How much? Could Bianca?- but she hadn’t wanted to sound crazy. Besides, they had more important things to focus on.

Bianca had found a discarded pen a while ago, and she’d been writing a line on her wrist for every day that went past. She was at thirty-seven, and she felt like she was going to collapse. They’d been walking for over a month.

Thalia stopped and Nico and Bianca followed suit, peering over a corner. Bianca heard Thalia gasp, and she tried to look past her shoulder.

“Oh my gods,” she whispered

“What is it?” Nico asked, urgently

Thalia turned to them, and backed them against the wall, “That’s a satyr. Which means he’s got another demigod,”

“A satyr?” Bianca asked

“Half-goat, half-human,”

 _Half-goat, half-human?!_ She thought it couldn’t get worse.

“Okay, but what does that mean?”

“It means that they can help us! Satyrs protect half-bloods. He’ll help us,”

“How do you know that, though? What if he doesn’t,”  
“He will, Bianca. He has to. It’s his job,”

“His job? Who gave it to him?”

Thalia hesitated before frowning, slightly, “I’m not sure, exactly, but we can ask him. And then he can take us there!”

“He won’t try to put us somewhere else?”

“You mean like a foster home or something?”

“Yeah,”

“No. I don’t think they’re allowed to do that,”

Bianca looked at Thalia, “Well okay. If you think it’s okay,”

“It is. It has to be,”

She turned around the corner, hollering at the half-goat, getting his attention. The satyr looked up, bewildered, from where he was talking to another kid, and frowned.

“Hey!” Thalia yelled, before glancing around. They were in the middle of an empty alleyway, and that seemed sufficient enough for Thalia because she kept running toward him.

The satyr stood up straighter as if expecting to run, eyeing them cautiously, “Yes?”

Thalia hesitated. She didn’t seem to know what to do next, “...You’re a satyr, right?”

He tensed, taking a precautionary step back, “Yes. Why?” Then his eyes widened as if he realized something.

“Wait, you can see it?”

Thalia nodded fervently, motioning for Bianca and Nico to follow her toward them, “Yeah. We’re half-bloods,”

The satyr's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head, “All three of you?”

Thalia nodded, “Yeah! All three of us!”

The satyr exchanged looks with a blonde kid with blue eyes, who nodded not-so-subtly. The goat sighed, grumbling something under his breath as he introduced himself.

“Okay, okay. My name’s Grover, this is Luke, and I guess you’re coming with us?”

“Yup,”

“I can’t believe this is happening,”

“Well you wouldn’t just leave us here, would you? I mean we could get eaten or lost or _killed_. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”

Bianca hid her smile behind her hand, pretending to scratch above her lip. Luke shot her a grin that told her she wasn’t as sneaky as she thought.

Grover closed his eyes before smiling and sarcastically saying, “No. I wouldn’t,”

Thalia snickered, and Bianca joined. Grover sighed heavily before adjusting the hat on his head.

“Alright. I guess I have no choice but to bring you with me,”

“Great! Where are we going?”

“Long Island,” Luke says, standing from where he sat on the ground, “New York,”

“We’re going all the way to New York?” Bianca deadpans, raising an eyebrow

“Mhmm,”

“Where are we now?”

“Arkansas,”

“That’s like four states away,”

“Yep,” 

Bianca couldn’t stop the grin that spread on her face and neither, apparently, could anybody else. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

She pulled her arm back, behind her, reaching for Nico’s arm. He’d been strangely quiet, recently. Her fingers met air. She turned her head, to urge him to come on when she was met with empty space. 

“Nico? Nico?!”


	6. bianca VI

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bianca POV-  
> nico's clumsy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lot's of bianca POV- that'll change later, though :)

**(bianca)**

Bianca took a deep breath, trying not to freak out. He was right next to her two seconds ago, he had to be somewhere around here. Thalia had given instruction to Grover and Luke to look for Nico three streets to the right of where they had been while she and Bianca looked for him in the three streets to the left. So far they had searched two, with not even a sign of him. Gods, he could be dead next to a pile of trash, alone. 

_No_. She forced herself to remain calm, trying to convince herself that the worst-case scenarios in her mind weren’t even probable. What were the chances that Nico was being taken captive and that they were going to feed him poisoned food in order to kill him? They weren’t.

“Bianca,” She heard Thalia say. She looked up at her to see her give Bianca a reassuring smile, “We’ll find him, I promise,” 

Bianca nodded, “I know it’s just...Nico and I only have each other. I don’t know where our mom is if we even have one, and apparently, our father is a God? I mean,” Bianca sights, “It’s just so much,” 

Thalia nods, “I know it’s crazy and I know it’s hard to believe, but hopefully this camp we’re going to will help,” 

Grover had explained that they were going to a place Camp Half-Blood. Bianca wasn’t sure of the details behind it, all she knew was that Grover was frantic to get there. He had said it was a safe place.

Bianca nods and there’s a moment of silence before Thalia purses her lips and frowns, “You said you don’t know where your mom is?”

Bianca shakes her head, “I remember the hotel and that somebody had brought us there- I don’t know who or why- but anything before that,” Bianca trails off, staring at Thalia helplessly as if she’ll have an answer.

Thalia’s eyebrows pull together, “That’s weird,” she murmurs, “It might’ve been an effect from the Casino,” 

Bianca frowns, “What do you mean?” 

“Well, certain places in mythology are magic,” Bianca dug her nails into her palms. Gods, Half-bloods, monsters, now _magic_? She thought her head was gonna fall off from overload, “These places,” Thalia continued, “Can affect all kinds of things. They can put you in a trance, they can make you forget things and they can change your sense of time,”

“Time?”

“Yeah. Time can pass faster or slower than usual without having any repercussions on you,”

“Do you think that’s what happened to me and Nico?”

Thalia bit her lip, “It’s definitely a possibility,”

Bianca looked down at her hands- how old was she?

They walk a few more feet and Bianca cranes her neck nervously, searching for some proof that Nico was around.

“How do you know all this?” She asks

Thalia grimaces, “I've been on the run for a long time,”

Bianca’s about to ask why when she hears a pained groan from next to a trash bag. Her breath catches in her throat, “Nico?!”

“Bia?” A child’s voice calls back weakly.

Bianca surges forward, letting out a cry. When she reaches him, she gasps, hands flying to her mouth, “Nico! Oh Gods, are you okay?”

She frantically drops down next to him. His leg is bleeding, a wooden plank sitting next to him on the street. 

She hears Thalia inhale sharply behind her, “What happened? Was it a monster?”

Nico shakes his head, grimacing as Thalia pulls a yellow square out of her pocket. Bianca had seen Grover hand her a baggy full of to her earlier.

“No. I-” He groans again, “It was an accident. I was running and I tripped over my shoelaces,” Bianca looked down to see them untied, “And I fell right on top of the wood,”

Bianca kind of wanted to laugh- bout out of relief and out of her brother’s clumsiness- but she turns to Thalia instead.

“What is that stuff?”

Thalia shrugs, “Grover gave it to me. He called it ambrosia. Apparently, it’s Godly food. It helps heal and energize demigods, but he also said to use very little, or else we can literally burn from the inside out,”

She handed it to Nico and Bianca frowned. Combusting did not sound like a good thing.

Nico took it, grinning, “Bia, the Gods eat this stuff! Isn’t that- ooow,” He moans as Thalia gingerly wraps his leg with bandages. 

She rolls her eyes, grinning, “You know, talking instead of eating that stuff isn’t helping,”

Nico sticks his tongue out at her but puts it in his mouth. His eyes widen as he swallows it.

“What?” Bianca asks.

He stares at her, “It tasted like”

“Like what?”

“I don’t really know,” he frowns, “But it was really good!”

Thalia nods, “According to Grover, it tastes like your favorite food,”

“Woah,” Bianca breathes, adding Magic God Food to her list of crazy things that she’s seen.

“Yup,” Thalia glances to the end of the alley, “We should probably head back, they might start to get worried,”

Bianca nods as Thalia helps Nico wrap his arm around her neck and lean his weight against her.

“Alright, you ready?”

He nods, “Mmhmm,”

Together, they carefully judged back to where they started.

::

Luke was drawing with a rock and Grover was pacing anxiously when they got there. Both of them ran toward them, asking what happened. When Bianca explained she couldn’t help but giggle and Nico sent her a betrayed look.

Grover looked instantly relieved, “So no monster then?”

“Nope,” Thalia said, popping the ‘p’

He let out a sigh, “Ok good. Now we should leave before some find us,”

“Agreed,” Luke mutters. He turns grinning at Nico, “Good job,”

Nico wrinkles his nose at him but can’t help but smile, too.

“Are you guys ready to go to Long Island?”

“Depends,” Bianca mumbles, “Where are we,”

“Missouri,”

She heaves a sigh. They still had a long way to go.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those of you reading this as a completed work:  
> this is a mandatory rest stop  
> drink some water, eat some food, sleep, stretch, work, do whatever you need to :))  
> take care of yourself, ily


	7. grover VII

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> grover POV-  
> they find another human :)

**(grover)**

Grover was officially freaking out. _Externally_ freaking out, he corrected (he’d been doing it internally ever since he found Luke). This was his first-ever assignment. He couldn’t fail. Not to mention, he, not only somehow found one demigod, but _four_? He wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t _qualified_ for this. At this point, they were all gonna die before they even left Kentucky. They were running out of ambrosia and nectar quickly. Too quickly. 

He took a look around him, noticing how dead tired everyone seemed. They’d been traveling from state-to-state with only the absolutely necessary stops, and it was obvious. They needed a break. 

He pointed ahead under the Virginia state sign that told them they were officially out of Kentucky, “We can rest in the next town,”

Luke nodded, glancing at Nico, we can check if your leg has healed,”

“Still can’t believe you _tripped_ over your _shoelaces_ ,” Bianca sighed, lips twitching upward.

“I didn’t mean to,” Nico muttered, turning red

Thalia sniggered, “That’s the best part,”

Grover grinned as Nico made a face at her. They continued walking.

::

Grover was getting worried. They hadn’t had a monster attack in days and with this much demigod scent in one area, that could only really mean one of two things, a) they were scared of something nearby or b) they were biding their time. Grover wasn’t sure which one was worse.

“We can stop there,” He says, motioning to an out-of-the-way street.

Thalia grumbles something about staying in dirty, grimy alleyways, and Grover winces apologetically. Bianca reaches over to help Nico lean against a brick wall of the building they’re next to when a _clang_ resounds throughout the avenue. Everyone freezes.

“What was that-,” Luke whispers but is interrupted by another one.

It was coming from underneath a tin sheet in front of them. Something- _someone_ \- was under it. 

Thalia reaches for her spear she had acquired a while back, and Grover reaches for the knife he had brought in case of emergencies. Luke tiptoed toward it, motioning for everyone to hold back. Putting his hand on the edge of the metal, he mouthed _one, two, three_ before flipping it up.

Then, three things happened at once. 

One, a tiny blur of yellow barreled past Grover and into Nico, two, they both tumbled to the ground, and, three, a hammer went skidding across the road.

To say Grover was surprised would be an understatement. 

“Woah!” Luke shouted, running up to them. Thalia and Grover follow as Bianca takes a step toward the person.

It’s a little girl with a mess of blonde ringlets on her head. She looks up at them and Grover is taken aback by the color of her eyes. They’re a startling grey- beautiful, but intimidating- and there are specks of black in them. They shine intelligently, resting above pink, freckled cheeks. She looks about seven or eight, about two or three years younger than Nico. 

“No!” She shouts, swinging her legs and arms around wildly, “No more monsters! No more monsters!”

Grover felt like something in him just shattered. She was as old as he was (well, physically. Mentally, he was fourteen, but that was another thing entirely). She was either a clear-sighted mortal or a demigod. He prayed to basically every God and Goddess that it wasn’t the latter. He wasn’t sure his heart could take if it was.

“Woah, hey, hey,” He heard Bianca say, “It’s okay,”

“Monsters!”

“No, no, no more monsters,”

The tiny child peered cautiously up at them, “No more monsters?”

“Nope. No more monsters,” 

Luke walked up to her, smiling as he sat next to her at Nico’s feet, “What’s your name?”

She hesitated, “Annabeth,”

Grover ginned. He’d never heard that name before, but he figured it described her- pretty but intimidating. 

“I think that name is awesome,” Thalia said

“Really?” Annabeth blinked

“Oh, yeah, for sure,”

Annabeth beamed, “Thank you,”

Luke got comfortable next to her, sticking his tongue out at Nico ever-so-maturely whenever he pretended to kick him.

“So, Annabeth, where are your parents?”

Annabeth’s eyes darkened and she sniffed, “My family hates me. I ran away,”

Grover tried not to grimace. Yet another demigod. He wasn’t paid enough for this. He wasn’t paid at all, actually.

He and Luke exchange glances.

“I’ll tell you what,” he says, “How about you come with us-”

“Go with you?”

“Yeah. We could use a fighter like you. We need someone clever,”

Annabeth’s eyes widen and she nods fervently, “I’m clever!”

Grover’s grin grew as Luke laughed a bit, “I knew you would be. So what do you say? Wanna join us?”

Annabeth looks like she’s gonna jump up and shout “Let’s go!” but she narrows her eyes.  
“Where are we going?”

“A camp,” Nico bounces, “For people who can see monsters,”

Grover doesn’t bother correcting him. It’d take too long.

“So, you won’t take me back to my dad?”

 _Dad._ Grover files away the information for later.

“No,” Thalia says adamantly, “We won’t,”

“Yeah,” Nico’s whole face brightens, “You can be part of our family now!”

Annabeth looks at him, then Luke and Thalia, Bianca, then finally Grover. Her smile is so wide Grover thinks her face is gonna split in half.

“Okay. I’ll come,”

“Yay!” Nico says.

Thalia helps Annabeth and Luke up as Bianca and Grover take a look at Nico’s leg.

“It’s healed,” Grover announces.

Annabeth frowns, “What happened?”

Before anyone can explain, Nico loudly interrupts them, “I tripped,” causing them to laugh.

“Speaking of which,” Bianca says, pointing to his feet, “Tie your shoes,”


End file.
